SLICC Feedback and Assessment
How are SLICCs Assessed?
Undertaking a SLICC project gives you a unique experience to be in charge of your own learning process, dictating not only the timeline of your project, but also setting your own success markers.
For many students who are new to the SLICC framework, this raises an important question, how am I assessed?
Assessing self-directed learning has been a challenge amongst educational researchers, who argue that there is yet to be one correct way to build assessment into SDL courses. Because there is inherent flexibility within a SLICC, as each instructor will take their own approach to assessment.
To date, SLICC courses at the University of Waterloo have include a few different approaches: SLICC Assessment Resources
SLICC Assessment Examples
See also the Assessment Section of the Student Support Pack
What about self-assessment?
Remember, this is your project from start to finish, so we ask that you engage in some form of self-evaluation. Across all SLICCs, self-evaluation should be happening throughout the experience, as you continuously reflect on your skill and mindset development.
In some SLICC courses, your instructor may also assign a grade point for your self-evaluation. Here you will be asked to complete some sort of questionnaire or rubric that asks you to provide a grade for yourself and to justify your decision.
See the example breakdown of a course that includes a graded self-evaluation piece:
PSCI 496
This is a great opportunity for you to articulate your growth, to explain your skills and to validate the work you have put into this experience.
The Feedback Process
Feedback is an essential aspect of your SLICC. As explored in the Key Deliverables section of this toolkit, your instructor will provide you with extensive feedback on your proposal and your interim reflective report. They may also provide feedback on your reflections, during dedicated check-ins scheduled between instructor and student, or as requested by you the student. However, your instructor is not your sole source of feedback or guidance.
During your SLICC you are encouraged to seek feedback from multiple sources. If you have a mentor outside of the classroom, you should be asking for feedback on your progress and your plans for completion. Remember, one of the primary goals of the SLICC experience is to help you advance your career readiness. Once you graduate, you won’t have access to an instructor to provide you with a grade, it will be expected that you will be able to seek out feedback and use said feedback to help your own self- assessment.
Your peers are also a great avenue to gain feedback, whether that is formally in the classroom (many instructors designated time for peer feedback) or informally outside of the classroom. It can be helpful for you and your peers to share ideas, progression and troubleshoot anything you might be unsure able.
In terms of formal feedback, it is the instructor’s role to ensure that they are giving effective feedback.
Effective feedback is:
- actionable
- specific to your project
- realistic in the given timeline
- encouraging
- acknowledges and celebrates successes
As the student it is your responsibility to:
- receive feedback
- review feedback
- apply feedback
- rationalize why you did or did not incorporate aspects of the feedback received
While the focus is often on the importance of getting effective feedback in our courses, it is also important to acknowledge how challenging receiving feedback can be. For many of you, this will be the first time you undertake a learning experience like this.
It can be stressful to receive extensive feedback on something that may feel very personal to you, and because of that, it is important to plan to review and apply feedback.
Resources for Receiving Feedback
Having a feedback plan in place can help you navigate feeling overwhelmed, organize your feedback, and decide what feedback is actionable in the timeline you have with the skills you possess.